MUST-HAVE Skill For Software Developers

The ability to say "No" and compromise on feature request is one of the most important skills as a software developer or engineer. Time and resources are limited in software development so saying no more often then you say yes can be very helpful to your team. In this video we discuss this topic on when, why and even how to say no as a software developer.

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[seanallen]

If you enjoy my teaching/presentation style I've started creating my own iOS Development courses at seanallen.teachable.com. You can watch the first ~10% of each course for free to get a feel for it.

[KimbrellBrad]

Great advice Sean! I retired last year from a 38-year career starting as a junior programmer, project manager, VP Sales, and then President for the last 10 years. So I have worked from both sides which was very helpful as I knew and lived with the management team's suggestions, orders, edicts, etc. LOL.

It boils down to we have this 5 gallon bucket and you have 8 gallons of stuff to fit in there. Like you said, if you give them choices while leading them toward the right one, you can win most of the time. Sometimes it's just tough. They launch tomorrow and we forgot "X". Then you need to compromise a bit. *** Communication is the key and building trust so you are heard takes time. ***

[TrippLilley]

“Your code has roots.”

This is a powerful and succinct statement.

[SriHarshaChilakapati]

I was in this situation 3 years ago in early 2018 in a startup. A senior suggested something that worked great, and all I did is just went to the manager, and sat besides him. He got to observe what I was doing, and he immediately realized how much time it can take to make a screen pixel-perfect from the sketch design you received from the designer. This, however works only in startups, as in most big companies, managers will be in their own cabins and you will either be in your own or in a different room.

[paducahFishFan]

I like to call the feature trade off... the "RIGHT versus the RIGHT NOW". :-)
Thanks for making these videos. Appreciate how you share and put it out there even though the haters cause you grief.

[mwdukes]

Learning the "Art of Saying No" is a key skill that will serve you well in your career no matter your job or seniority. As you say, it IS truly the art of compromise and negotiation in many cases - which are communication skills you can leverage in just about any life situation.

[matthewgarber]

Its hard to say no, as a result people work way to much and results in high burn out rates. I remember my first year at a large Silicon Valley company we have unlimited PTO but I never took a day off and with COVID WFH I definitely worked a lot more hours. But when I finally did as for 2 weeks off my manager enthusiastically encouraged me to take off since I was the only one who didn’t take time off that year since I just joined the team.

[ranjeetraushanofficial]

Thank you Sean to highlight the dark side of Developer Environment. ❤️

[gijoecodes]

I need to learn how to say no to myself. I keep adding features to my app. They work but it keeps delaying my release date.
Would like to ask you to please create/post a video on how to create apps for other development teams. I've been struggling with figuring out a way to charge for an app on a monthly basis as a subscription but not for the end-user to pay but rather the client or (app owner).

[LexgineerLife]

It's a nice skill to use in your entire life, not only as a developer

[VincentGroenewold]

Can you say no as a junior though, even if it's not the way you should develop in the long term? You know way less, so taking on too much which will be very relative. And if your colleague says yes, you might be out of a job fast. :) Just wondering as I never worked in a company.

[aicreatortoolkit]

I’m a Inde developer and saying no to my self is super hard

[LexgineerLife]

"software is never finished" - at that point I made the same sad face =(